Leading airline
supports employees
during a pandemic

Employee health and wellbeing have always been important considerations for employers, but now the workforce expects their employer to support their health, wellness and safety more than ever before. These issues aren’t just good for morale, they’re good for your bottom line. Every dollar spent on treatment for common mental disorders—stress, anxiety and burnout—returns four dollars in improved health and productivity. In fact, 94 percent of employees who feel cared for by their organization also feel more personally engaged in their work. It’s a win-win for both people, and the business.

Many companies enhanced their employee wellbeing benefits for employees during the pandemic and plan on continuing with those benefits in a post-COVID-19 world. One leading airline doubled down on their commitment to employee health and wellbeing. Although the company already had programs in place, human resources leaders jumped into action to develop even stronger programming to meet employee needs. One example? Mental health. It had long been a priority—but nine months prior to the pandemic the airline tripled its investment in mental health resources and vowed to continue this support going forward.

Prioritizing employee mental wellbeing during a pandemic

The airline’s enhanced plan encompasses four main pillars: financial, work-life, physical and mental wellbeing. A hub of resources provides employees with educational materials, virtual briefings and access to more than 25 vendor-led programs to support these four areas. Making sure their employees feel supported is the top priority for leaders at the company, and they led by example. The CEO and Chief People Officer were staunch advocates for the programs and showed employees that they also used the resources. They clearly articulated their purpose̶—that taking care of employees was the top priority. This helped in widespread adoption of the services.

In addition to providing a robust hub of resources, the airline also:

• Partnered with business resource groups and specific divisions to address topics including racial inequality, career identity and work-life balance as it relates to mental health
• Enhanced the employee assistance program
• Hosted onsite coaching, wellbeing trainings and summits
• Extended short-term counseling for employees and their family members

Employees were highly engaged in the programs, and HR collected information to improve and enhance their benefit offerings.

Reporting meaningful metrics to improve programming

Company leaders examined metrics on a weekly basis to identify areas of improvement, including: enrollment statistics, engagement in programs, top reasons for accessing resources and reviewing employee survey responses. As a result, they were able to support 1,000 members with mental health support each week, saw 200,000 emotional support text messages exchanged and more than 35,000 phone calls made to a support line. These statistics are proof that the pandemic affected people on an unprecedented level, and the company had the right programs in place to support their people.

Making health and wellbeing a priority in the years ahead

The importance of employee health and wellbeing is here to stay. Supporting employees regardless of their work location by providing wellness tools and ensuring the office remains safe are imperative. With 44 percent of the workforce prioritizing working in a company that ensures health and wellbeing, according to JLL Research, companies that dedicate time and resources to implement robust programming will win in the long-term. They’ll retain and attract top talent, earn financial gains from lack of turnover and maintai their reputation as a great place to work.

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Learn more about this airline’s health and wellbeing program when you listen to the on-demand recording of our webinar, and find additional information about the future of work when you visit our website.